Certain diaryl piperidines have been shown to exhibit pharmacological properties (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,486). The preparation of diaryl piperidines has also been described. (See, e.g., Haller, R., Arch. Pharmaz. (1965) 298:787; Davis, F. A., et al., Org. Lett. (2001) 3:3169; Pandiarajan, et al., Indian J. Chem. Sect. B. (1987) 26B:624; Galves, et al., J. Heterocyclic Chem. (1992) 29:1797; Ramalingam, et al., J. Org. Chem. (1979) 44:471; and Poerwono, et al., Heterocycles (1997) 46:385). Because of the utility of these compounds, there continues to be a need for new methods of preparing diaryl piperidines.